The Texas Education Board has voted 9-5 to approve a mandatory public school reading list that includes about a dozen stories from the Bible, including the tale of David and Goliath in second grade and direct biblical excerpts beginning in fourth grade.
Details of the Reading List
Students would be required to read more than two dozen texts in early elementary grades and about 10 literary works per year from sixth grade through high school. The list has been the subject of controversy, with some testifiers arguing that it does not include diverse authors and others praising the inclusion of classical literature and biblical texts.
Some testifiers expressed concerns that the list would not allow for independent reading time and that it does not represent the diverse student population in Texas. State Rep. Salman Bhojani, D-Euless, noted that the list does not include many Hispanic or African American authors, which could make it difficult for students from those backgrounds to see themselves represented in the curriculum.
Religious Concerns
Religious leaders and scholars warned that portions of the reading list could foster antisemitism in schools. For example, in eighth grade, students would be required to read Lamentations 3, a religious text that details the destruction of Jerusalem as God’s punishment for the Israelites, alongside “Night,” a Holocaust memoir by Elie Wiesel.
Rabbi David Segal of Houston said that this pairing could lead students to consider whether the Holocaust was God’s punishment for the Jews. Rabbi Joshua Fixler with the Texas Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism argued that the focus on Christian viewpoints and Christian versions of multifaith texts could contribute to antisemitism by making Jewish students and non-Christian students feel out of place.
Implementation and Next Steps
The new requirements are slated to take effect in the 2030-31 school year, although board members were discussing options for a phased rollout during the meeting. The Texas Education Agency is currently working to correct roughly 4,200 errors in the state-owned textbooks, known as Bluebonnet Learning, which were approved by the SBOE in late 2024.
Original reporting: Community Impact — Sugar Land — read the source article.
